INSTITUTE OF AIRCRAFT DESIGN/ THE UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGART (USTUTT)

The University of Stuttgart is a research-intensive university with a predominantly engineering and natural science orientation and its special profile includes linking these subject areas with humanities and social sciences. The Universität Stuttgart lies right in the centre of the largest high-tech region of Europe. Indicators of our excellent status are the two projects that were successful in the recent “Excellence Initiative” sponsored by both the Federal and the State governments. One project is the Cluster of Excellence “Simulation Technology” and the other, the Graduate School “Advanced Manufacturing Engineering”. The research activities are concentrated around eight interdisciplinary areas, “Modelling and Simulation Technology”, “New Materials”, “Complex Systems and Communication”, “Concepts of Technology and Technology Evaluation”, “Energy and the Environment”, “Mobility”, “Integrated Product Design and Production Organisation” as well as “Building and Housing”.

Department involved in the project

The Institute of Aircraft Design (IFB) is part of the faculty “Aerospace Engineering” of the University of Stuttgart. It has more than 40 years of experience in composite materials, design and testing of aerospace-, automotive- and wind-energy structures. Three professors, circa 70 researchers and 12 technicians are working on basic research topics (aircraft pre-design, simulation tools, design guidelines, testing methods, new material systems, fracture-mechanics, manufacturing technologies) and on composites related applications. Since more than 10 years a research focal point is “textile structural composites”.

Main contribution to the project

IFB will participate to WP3 where its main contribution will be led by the knowledge in draping systems and large part production with carbon composite material, as well as knowledge in pick & place systems. This includes the experience gained through years of experience with infiltration of composite material structures with various matrix-systems. A new tape laying system will be developed in WP3 for the efficient manufacturing of large composite structures coming from the truck and aeronautic industry. In WP4, IFB will contribute to the development of fast & energy efficient heating/curing systems based on a demand-meeting technology. In WP5, IFB will contribute through several years of experience with the simulation of draping software and FEM tools and their use in carbon composite simulation as well as crash simulations of carbon composite structures. IN WP6, IFB will contribute the experience and manpower to the realization of a lab-scale demonstrator.

Key people involved

Dipl-Ing. Stefan Carosella is the LOWFLIP project coordinator. He is currently leading the textile preforming team at the Institute of Aircraft Design (IFB). He has been involved in several EU funded projects and was the IFB project leader of AUTOW and EMBROIDERY for instance.

Stefan Carosella has a graduate degree (2004) in aerospace engineering from the University of Stuttgart with a focus on aircraft design (specializing in preforming technology for carbon composite structures).

Dipl.-Ing. Frieder Heieck is the LOWFLIP project manager. He has several years of experience in numerous research project related to composites and was the project leader of the EU-funded project APrIL, which is a part of the CleanSky programme.

Frieder Heieck has a graduate degree (2010) in aerospace engineering from the University of Stuttgart with a focus on lightweight design with composite materials.

Marco Sczesny has a graduate degree (2004) in aerospace engineering from the University of Stuttgart with the focus on aircraft propulsion systems and aircraft design (specializing in preforming technology for carbon composite structures). His involvement at the institute includes external seminars concentrating on infusion technology, textile preforming and the development of an automated pick&place gripper for roboter-supported placement of preforms.